John Philip Nayden

September 5, 2022

John Philip Nayden of Madison, CT and formerly of New Smyrna Beach, FL and Stamford, CT passed away peacefully on September 5 at the age of 95. John was born in 1927 in Annapolis, MD to the late William and Helen (Stein) Nayden. He will be sadly missed and will always hold a place in our hearts as loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

John graduated from Loyola College of Baltimore with both a bachelor and masters degree in English. He was a seminarian ordained deacon before returning to the laity. John served in the army as a Lieutenant during the Korean War in the Army Signal Corps. He taught high school English in Baltimore before beginning a lifetime career with IBM, serving in a variety of roles including systems engineering, sales support, corporate education and instruction of advanced management and planning. Upon retirement from IBM, he contributed his significant skills to the growth and expansion of Junior Achievement in Colorado Springs, CO.

Growing up in Annapolis, John loved crabcakes and learned to sail on the Chesapeake Bay alongside the Naval Academy. He loved sports and was a good baseball and tennis player. He rooted for the Yankees in spite of his Maryland roots. John had a beautiful singing voice and he used it to cantor at Mass. Sunday afternoons were for opera. John was an avid reader and a writer of poetry. He loved engaging his grandchildren in discourse about their work and their studies. In fact, he loved everything related to his grandchildren.

John was a man of faith. His devotion to his Catholic beliefs carried him through the joys and challenges that life presented. He is predeceased by his loving wife, Cecilia (O’Meara), his beloved son, Bill, his sister Margaret, brothers Fr. William Nayden, C.S.S.R., Robert and Frank and his sister-in-law, Charlotte (Fredericks) Nayden.

He is the treasured father of John, Denis (Britta), Michael (Irene), Helen (Thomas Burland) and Mark (Richard Kennedy, daughters-in-law Donna (Bernie Buchheit) and Paska (Gjoni). He is also survived by 16 loving grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, sisterin-law, Elise (Wade) Nayden, many nieces and nephews and the Burland family dog, Luna who never left his side.

Visitation will be held on Fri, Sept 9th at the Guilford Funeral Home at 115 Church St, Guilford, CT from 4 – 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Sat, Sept. 10th at St. Margaret Church, 24 Academy Street, Madison, CT at 10:00 am. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to St. Catherine Center of Special Needs, 760 Tahmore Dr., Fairfield, CT 06825 or www.stcatherinecenter.org. GOD BLESS JOHN! To share a memory or leave condolences, visit www. guilfordfuneralhome.com